The federal government on Tuesday, February 17, moved to prevent United States (U.S)-based sprinter Favour Ofili from switching allegiance to Turkey, insisting she remains a Nigerian athlete.
Ofili, widely regarded as one of the finest sprint talents of her generation, announced last year that she was switching allegiance to Turkey, a move which came as a huge blow to Nigerian athletics.
However, a top official of the National Sports Commission (NSC) said that Ofili remains a Nigerian athlete.
“Ofili remains our athlete,” the official said.
“She was among the elite athletes who were paid training grants by the NSC last year, and it is not possible for her to switch allegiance to Turkey. If Ofili wants to compete for another country, she will have to wait until September 2028. That is the simple truth. We took our time to study the situation and have written to World Athletics to explain our stand regarding Ofili’s nationality switch.”
Ofili is the only Nigerian woman to run under 22 seconds in the 200m, holding the national record with a lifetime best of 21.96s.
Before she announced her nationality switch to Turkey last year, Ofili featured prominently at major global events, including the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires (2019), the World Athletics Championships in Doha (2019) and Budapest (2023), the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham (2022), and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
She also represented Nigeria at multiple African Championships, underlining her consistency and impact on the track.
According to the NSC official, Ofili is among the athletes expected to fly Nigeria’s flag at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The move to stop Ofili’s nationality switch is coming just as Nigerian sprint legend, Mary Onyali, revealed how she turned down offers to represent four other countries during her career.
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